Glass beads
Canadian fiction, Canadian authors (Fiction), Native peoples fiction, Native peoples of Canada fiction
Summary
These short stories interconnect the friendships of four First Nations people - Everett Kaiswatim, Nellie Gordon, Julie Papequash, and Nathan (Taz) Mosquito. They are among the first of their families to live off the reserve for most of their adult… lives, and must adapt and evolve. In stories like “Stranger danger”, we watch how shy Julie, though supported by her roomies, is filled with apprehension as she goes on her first white-guy date, while years later in “Two years less a day” we witness her change as her worries and vulnerability are put to the real test when she is unjustly convicted in a violent melee and must serve some jail time. As the four friends experience family catastrophes, broken friendships, travel to Mexico, and the aftermath of 9/11, readers are intimately connected with each struggle, whether it is with racism, isolation, finding their cultural identity, or repairing the wounds of their upbringing. 2017.